Panel supporting grid



Sept. 21, 1965 D. A. BROWN ETAL 3,207,057

PANEL SUPPORTING GRID Filed Sept. '7, 1962 INVENTORS. DONALD A. EQOM/NBY LL/C/EN QDom rvwe J2 United States Patent 3,207,057 PANEL SUPPORTINGGRID Donald A. Brown, Westlake, and Lucien R. Downing, Jr.,

Avon Lake, Ohio, assignors to Donn Products Incorporated, Westlake,Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Sept. 7, 1962, Ser. No. 222,055

3 Claims. (Cl. 98-40) This invention relates, as indicated, to astructure which 1s adapted to support a plurality of individual panelmembers, and more particularly to a grid structure, including thepanels, which is ventilated. The grid structures of the presentinvention are useful in supporting decorative panel members, such asacoustic tile members, wood veneer, and the like as a wall, floor orceiling.

Recent years have seen changes in the manner of internal room decorationand furnishing in which emphasis has been laid upon suspended ceilingsor ceiling sections. Most usually, such structures are composed of ametallic grid of beam members and panel members supported thereby, suchas the aforesaid acoustic tile members, and with or without flushlighting fixtures. The improvements of the present invention haveparticular utility in connection with suspended ceiling grid structures,and, therefore, will be discussed with particular reference thereto.

Concurrently with the developments mentioned above, changes have beenmade in the manner in which conditioned air has been introduced into aroom. Most recently use has been made of the space or plenum formedbetween a suspended ceiling and the original room ceiling as a recptaclefor conditioned air, and a region from which it can be introduceduniformly into the room. One such method is to utilize a ventilated tilein which holes have been drilled completely through the tile to providechannels for the escape of conditioned air from the plenum chamber intothe room below. The void space in the surface area of such a perforatedtile amounts to about 2% of the total area of the tile member.

Other methods of providing a passageway from the plenum chamber to theroom below have involved extensive modification of the supporting gridbeams or modification of the tile or panel members themselves alongtheir marginal edges.

The present invention is distinguished from these methods for providingventilation from a plenum chamber to an adjacent room in that itrequires no modification of the panel members themselves, the supportinggrid beams or the mode of installation, and utilizes instead materialsof construction which are available on the market with the exception ofrelatively inexpensive means hereinafter more particularly described.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention,then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, the following description and theannexed drawings setting forth in detail certain illustrativeembodiments of the invention, such disclosed means constituting,however, but a few of the various forms in which the principle of thisinvention may be employed.

Briefly stated, the present invention is in the provision of a grid forsupporting a plurality of individual panel members, generally in thesame plane. The grid is generally formed of a plurality of structuralbeams which are disposed in intersecting relation to each other in apredetermined geometric configuration, for example configurations formedfrom squares, rectangles, triangles, diamonds, and other such geometricfigures. The structural beams are conveniently formed from thin metalsheets, e.g., steel or aluminum, or extruded. In the preferredembodiment, the structural beams are characterized by a web portionwhich defines a pair of spaced parallel marginal edges. Along one of themarginal edges there is Ice provided a bead portion, usually perforatedto admit the free ends of suspending wires, for example. Along the othermarginal edge there is provided a flange portion extending laterally ofthe web. Means are provided for supporting panels in the grid inventilating spaced relation to the beam flange, and means coactingtherewith are also provided to maintain the marginal edges of the panelsin ventilating spaced relation to the web so that gas may pass from oneside of the panel to the other between the web and marginal edges of thepanels. In this manner, gas contained in the plenum chamber such asconditioned air, may pass freely from such chamber into the adjacentroom or space. The flange portions of the beam serve to conceal themarginal edges of the panels supported by the grid in a decorativemanner.

In the annexed drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a structural beam andshowing a clip in coacting relation therewith.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the beam and clip shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional View of a beam and coacting clip shown insuspended relation to a ceiling, and having panel members operativelydisposed therein, and showing the passage of gas from the plenum chamberto the adjacent room below.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of a suspendedceiling showing beams in intersecting relation to form a panelsupporting grid with panels in place as the structure would appear withthe ventilating means of the present invention.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is here shown a beamgenerally indicated at 10 and having a web portion 11 defining spacedparallel marginal edges 12 and 13. Along marginal edge 12 there isprovided a beam bead portion 14 which is preferably integral with web11. Bead 14 is preferably of rectangular or box-like configuration asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in order to confer longitudinal as well astransverse rigidity to the beam.

Bead 14 is conveniently provided with a plurality of spaced perforations15 adapted to receive the free end of suspension wires, such as shown inFIG. 3, later to be discussed.

The lower marginal edge 13 of web 11 is conveniently provided with alaterally extending flange 16, preferably extending to either side ofweb 11 in a plane normal to the plane of web 11. Flange 16 is alsodesirably integral with web 11, a fold line at the juncture of flange 16with one side of web 11 defining the lower marginal edge 13. In order toconceal the fold line from view, there is conveniently provided a cap 17which is generally of very thin enamelled metal overfolded at each ofits marginal edges to embrace the marginal edges of flange 16.

The beam, as thus far described, is a commercially available item, andit is used in the formation of grid structures for supporting panelmembers, the panels being supported by the flange 16. If the panelssupported by structural beam members 10 on flange 16 are imperforatemembers or tiles, flow of gas from the plenum chamber to the adjacentroom is impeded. Impediment to gas flow may be caused by abutment of theedge of a panel member against the web 11, or superimposition of amarginal portion of the surface of a panel member on the supportingflange 16, or a combination of both. Accordingly, means are provided forspacing the marginal edges of panel members from the web 11, and meansare also provided for spacing the marginal surfaces of the panels fromthe flange 16.

A preferred form of accomplishing both of these functions is shown inFIGS. 1, 2 and 3 wherein there is provided a clip 20.

Clip 20 provides means for spacing the marginal edges of panelssupported thereby from web 16 in the form of Web-like members 21 and 22which are capable of being disposed in substantially parallel spacedrelation from each side of the web 11 by action of the panel member.Clips 20 are conveniently formed of thin spring steel in such mannerthat web-like portions or legs 21 and 22 are in diverging relationshipto each other, and when a panel member is brought into abutting relationtherewith as shown in FIG. 3, the legs or web-like members 21 and 22,for example, are brought into substantially parallel and spaced relationfrom each side of the web 11. The free ends of legs 21 and 22 areconveniently bent at right angles to the plane of legs 21 and 22,respectively, to form panel-supporting means, or support flanges 23 and24, respectively. In the preferred embodiment shown in the annexeddrawings, the panel-supporting means and the panel-spacing means areintegral with each other. Such means may not, however, necessarily beintegral with each other and may, for example, be formed from web 11 andflange 16 portions, respectively.

Legs 21 and 22 are conveniently joined together through a beadencircling portion 25 which, due to the spring-like nature of the metalfrom which the clip 20 is formed, is adapted to be snapped intoencircling engagement with bead 14. Displacement of the legs 21 and 22,respectively, out of the plane of the vertical bead encircling portions,and towards each other, necessitates the application of deforming forceto the bead encircling portion 25 to effect removal of the clip 20therefrom.

When the extent of the divergence of legs 21 and 22 at the freeextremities thereof, is greater than the width of bead 14, and placementof clips 20 at suitable intervals along the beam is readily effected bythe application of pressure in a direction toward the flange 16 to theclip 20 of suflicient magnitude to deform the bead encircling portion 25to permit encircling and interlocking engagement with bead 14.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a beam 10 shown in suspendedrelation to a ceiling portion 30. The mode of suspension is conventionaland is illustrated by wire 32 anchored to ceiling portion 30 at 33 andsecured to beam 10 through perforation 15. Panels 34 and 35 areconventional imperforate panels such as acoustic tile panels. Panels 34and 35 are supported in spaced relation from flange 16 by means ofsupport flanges 23 and 24, respectively, of clip 20. The marginal edgesof panels 34 and 35 are shown maintained in spaced relation from the web11 by means of legs 21 and 22, respectively. The spacing of the marginaledges of panels 34 and 35 from web 11, and the simultaneous spacing ofthe lower surfaces of panels 34 and 35 from the laterally extendingflange 16 of beam 10 enables the free passage of gas, e.g. conditionedair, from plenum chamber 31 downwardly between the marginal edges ofpanels 34 and 35 and the web 11, and outwardly between the surfaces ofpanels 34 and 35 and flange 16 into the adjacent room below.

Thus, conditioned air may be supplied to plenum chamber 31 and permittedto escape in the manner aforesaid into the adjacent room to effectconditioning thereof to the comfort of the occupants.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a portion of acompleted suspended ceiling. There is here shown a plurality ofstructural beams such as beam 10 disposed in intersecting relation toeach other in a predetermined geometric configuration formed of squares.As indicated above, the elements forming the grid may have any desiredgeometric configuration, and the panels 34 and 35 provided withcomplementary configurations for emplacement therein and supportthereon. Installation of suspended ceilings, for example embodying theimprovements of the present invention, involves departure from standardinstallation techniques only to the extent of the emplacement of theclip members 20, for example, or the employment of other means toaccomplish the same purposes.

There has thus been provided an improved grid for supporting a pluralityof individual panel members in a plane which includes a plurality ofstructural beams disposed in intersecting relation to each other.Numerous means are currently available for effecting intersection ofstructural beam members of the type here described, for example as shownin Patent No. 2,903,104. In order to permit ventilation between a plenumchamber and an adjacent room, means are provided coacting with the beamsfor supporting the panels in ventilating spaced relation to the beamflange, and means coacting therewith to maintain the marginal edges ofthe panels in ventilating spaced relation to the web of the beam. Insuch manner gas such as conditioned air, may pass from one side of thepanel to the other between the web and the marginal edges of the panels.

Clips 20 instead of being formed from sheet metal as indicated in theannexed drawings, may, as well, be formed of wire and installed inprecisely the same manner. The lateral extension of flange 16 to eitherside of web 11 is sufficient to conceal support flange means 23 and 24of a sheet metal as well as a wire clip.

Other modes of applying the principle of this invention may be employedinstead of those specifically set forth above, changes being made asregards the details herein disclosed provided the elements set forth inany of the following claims, or the equivalent of such be employed.

It is, therefore, particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed as theinvention:

1. A grid for supporting a plurality of individual panel members in aplane including a plurality of structural beams disposed in intersectingrelation to each other in a predetermined geometric configuration, eachof said beams having a web portion defining a pair of spaced parallelmarginal edges, a beam bead portion along one of said marginal edges anda flange portion extending laterally of said web along the othermarginal edge, a plurality of panel supporting clips disposed at spacedintervals along each of said beams, said clips being of generallyU-shape and adapted to be suspended over said beam bead portions, thelegs of said clip terminating in outwardly projecting flanges adapted toengage the marginal edges of panels to be supported thereby adjacentsaid Web portion and in spaced relation to said beam flange portion.

2. A grid in accordance with claim 1 wherein the legs of said clip arein diverging relation to each other toward their respective flangedends.

3. A grid in accordance with claim 2 wherein the outwardlyprojectingflanges of said clip do not extend beyond said beam flange portion.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT A. OLEARY,Primary Examiner.

RICHARD W. COOKE, Examiner.

1. A GRID FOR SUPPORTING A PLURALITY OF INDIVIDUAL PANEL MEMBERS IN APLANE INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF STRUCTURAL BEAMS DISPOSED IN INTERSECTINGRELATION TO EACH OTHER IN A PREDETERMINED GEOMETRIC CONFIGURATION, EACHOF SAID BEAMS HAVING A WEB PORTION DEFINING A PAIR OF SPACED PARALLELMARGINAL EDGES, A BEAM BEAD PORTION ALONG ONE OF SAID MARGINAL EDGES ANDA FLANGE PORTION EXTENDING LATERALLY OF SAID WEB ALONG THE OTHERMARGINAL EDGE, A PLURALITY OF PANEL SUPPORTING CLIPS DISPOSED AT SPACEDINTERVALS ALONG EACH OF SAID BEAMS, SAID CLIPS BEING OF GENERALLYU-SHAPE AND ADAPTED TO BE SUSPENDED OVER SAID BEAM BEAD PORTIONS, THELEGS OF SAID CLIP TERMINATING IN OUTWARDLY PROJECTING FLANGES ADAPTED TOENGAGE THE MARGINAL EDGES OF PANELS TO BE SUPPORTED THEREBY AJACENT SAIDWEB PORTION AND IN SPACED RELATION TO SAID BEAM FLANGE PORTION.